Blank forming apparatus and method



Sept. 25, 1962 F. M. SAYFORD, JR

BLANK FORMING APPARATUS AND METHOD 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 22, 1957 INVENTOR fkAA/KMJZY Sept. 25, 1962 SAYFQRD, JR 3,055,567

BLANK FORMING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed Oct. 22, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4. T q- 75 74 T11 l ATT E 1 I P 1962 F. M. SAYFORD, JR 3,055,567

BLANK FORMING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed 001:. 22, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR FRANK M So r EDI/7E Sept. 25', 1962 F. M. SAYFORD, JR 3,055,567

BLANK FORMING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed Oct. 22, 195'? 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent Ofifice M. Sayford Company, Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 22, 1957, Ser. No. 691,706 Claims. (Cl. 2252) This invention relates to the forming of blanks from sheet materials and more specifically to a novel and improved method and apparatus for compressing paper and other compressible sheet materials to form blanks for use in the manufacture of cups and other products. The invention further relates to the method of making compressing and forming dies for paper and other sheet materials.

While the invention to be described herein is generally applicable to forming blanks of a wide variety of sizes and configurations from sheet material, for convenience it will be described as applied to the forming blanks of paper for use in the fabrication of cups and other similar articles. Heretofore blank forming apparatus has been in the form of relatively large reciprocating machines arranged to cut or sever a large number of blanks from single or multiple sheet, with the cut blanks being retained in place on a sheet by uncut sections or connections. After partial severance of the blank in this way further operations were required to sever the blanks from the sheet stock and arrange them in stacks for feeding to subsequent forming apparatus. This procedure was not only time consuming in that the partially cut sheets 'had to be removed from the cutting machine for the blank stripping operation, but was also expensive in that complicated, bulky cutting equipment was required and blank stripping was performed by hand. The use of connections or ties to hold the blanks in place in the stock materially complicated the process since the ties often remained on the blanks after stripping and had to be manually removed prior to subsequent operations.

This invention overcomes the foregoing and other disadvantages of prior blank cutting methods and apparatus and provides a continuously operating machine that is small, compact, avoids the need for complicated mechanisms and will produce and stack finished blanks at speeds far in excess of that heretofore obtainable.

Another object of the invention resides in a novel and improved method of forming blanks from paper and other compressible sheet materials wherein the blank is completely severed from the material and ready for stacking or delivery to subsequent article forming apparatus.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a novel and improved rotary blank forming machine that is characterized by its high speed, simplicity, dependability and need for little, if any, maintenance. Because of the inherent nature of this apparatus, once the machine is properly adjusted for operation, the adjustment will remain for extended periods of time and an operators attendance is required only periodically to insure that stock is constantly fed to the machine.

A still further object of the invention resides in a novel and improved high speed rotary apparatus for forming blanks from paper and other sheet material stock.

A still further object of the invention resides in a novel and improved method for making rotary dies for use in forming blanks from sheet material.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings forming part of this application.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view in diagrammatical form 3,055,567 Patented Sept. 25, 1962 illustrating one embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of apparatus in accordance with the invention and embodying the principles illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 taken along the line 33 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 2 taken along the line 44 thereof;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in cross section showing the construction and cooperation of the blank forming elements of FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 5A is an enlarged section of a forming die in accordance with the invention;

'FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view in cross section of a portion of a formed blank and the adjoining stock to show the compression of the material in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a partially formed cup utilizing a blank formed with the illustrated appatus;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of milling apparatus for making a forming element in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 8 With portions omitted;

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of FIG. the line 1010 thereof;

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of FIG. the line 11--11 thereof;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary section of a rotary milling tool and a portion of the blank forming element illustrating another step in the making of a blank forming element;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary section of FIG. 8 showing another step in the procedure for forming the side edges of the blank forming element; and

FIG. 14 is a side elevation of the cutting tool as shown in fragmentary form in FIG. 12.

Referring now to the drawings, the illustrated embodiment of the invention is for the purpose of forming blanks of paper and other similar compressible materials for the manufacture of cups. For convenience in understanding the invention, a diagrammatic view is illustrated in FIG. 1. In this figure the blanks are denoted by the numeral 10 and are formed from continuous paper stock generally denoted by the numeral 11. The paper stock is preferably fed to the apparatus through a pair of feed rollers 12 and then through the forming or compressing rollers 13 and 14. The roller 13 includes a plurality of forming or compressing elements 15 disposed about the periphery thereof and which will be described in connection with the other figures showing the construction thereof.

The roller 14 includes a plurality of make-ready plates 14' each of which cooperates with one of the blank forming elements 15 for the purpose of forming blanks from the stock 11. The elements 15 are generally referred to as forming or compressing elements as they do not actually sever the blanks but rather compress the stock along lines defining the blanks so that the latter may be readily removed merely by breaking the stock along the compressed portions. With this procedure finished blanks are provided having a completely smooth, uninterrupted edge, free from connections, ties or other discontinuities. by spacing the elements 15 from the make-up plates 14 or surface of the roller 14, as the case may be, so that the distance between the forming edges of the elements 15 and the surfaces of the roller 14 is less than the thickness of the paper stock. In this way a suflicient depression of the paper stock is obtained so that slight pressure on the formed blank will break or fracture the com- 9 taken along 9 taken along Forming of the blanks is accomplished pressed portions to separate the blank from the stock. With this procedure extremely high cutting speeds can be obtained that are far in excess of cutting speeds obtain able with known apparatus. Moreover, the blanks produced are completely severed from the stock with smooth, uninterrupted edges and the blanks may be stacked or delivered directly to subsequent material forming apparatus.

After the paper stock 11 has passed between the forming rollers 13 and 14, the stock, with the blank still attached passes beneath a blank removing or stripping plate 16. This plate has a curved forward edge 17 which in the present instance is formed with a radius somewhat smaller than the radius of the edge of the blank 10. With this arrangement, as the stock moves beneath the plate 16 the foremost portion of the edge 10' first appears from beneath the edge 17 of the plate 16. The waste stock 11' is pulled in an upward direction as shown by the arrow 18, so that it forms a relatively sharp angle with the edge of plate 16. Pulling of the waste stock 11 upwardly as shown in FIG. 1 causes the blank 10 to separate from the waste 11' at the leading edge 17 of the plate 16 and continue in the plane of movement of the stock 11. Successive portions of the edges of the blanks 10 are separated and the severed blanks are fed to a moving belt 19 carried by rollers 20 and 21. The blanks are then engaged by an upper moving belt 22 carried by rollers 23 and 24 with the belt 22 being substantially in contact with the belt 19. These two belts actually grip the blanks before final separation from the waste 11' and the finished blanks 10 are then fed either directly to subsequent forming apparatus or stacked, as may be desired.

FIGS. 2 through 5 illustrate in detail a machine embodying the principles of the apparatus shown and described in connection with FIG. 1. The machine includes a base generally denoted by the numeral 30 and having a base 31 and upright members 32 and 33 on one side of the base and corresponding members 32 and 33' on the other side of the base. The forming roller 13 is mounted in the lower part of the base 30 and is secured to the frame members 32, 33 and 32', 33' by suitable bearing assemblies generally denoted by the numerals 34 and 34 in FIG. 2. The bearing assemblies 34 and 34' may be of any desired form for rotatably supporting the forming roller 13 by means of the shaft portions 35 and 35. The roller shaft 35 extends beyond the bearing as sembly 34 and carries an outer spur gear 36 and an inner sprocket 37. The upper roller 14 carrying the make-up plates 14' has a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of the roller 13 and is supported by a pair of outwardly extending shaft parts 38 and 38' journalled in bearing assemblies 39 and 39, adjustably supported by the frame members 32, 33 and 32 and 33, respectively. The roller shaft 39 extends beyond the bearing assembly 39 and carries a spur gear 40 which meshes with the spur gear 36 for synchronising the rotation of the rollers 13 and 14. The forming blades carried by the roller 13 have a configuration corresponding to the blank to be cut from the stock 11. It comprises essentially a curved structure having an arcuate base 41 and a peripheral ridge 42. The outer edge of this ridge is rounded to effect a compressing action when contacting the stock, rather than producing a severing action such as that obtained with knives or shears. The forming blades 15 are bolted to the supporting roller structure 13' and these portions of the roller 13' surrounding the blades 15 carry a suitable material to bring these filled portions to a level approximately even with the ridges 42 of the cutting blades 15. It is preferable to provide a filler material having a slightly resilient characteristic so that it will not interfere with the forming action of the blades 15 and at the same time will prevent buckling or distortion of the paper stock as it is fed between the rollers 13 and 14. A suitable filler material for this purpose may include wood blocks 43 and a surface 44 of cork or other similar material. An enlarged fragmentary view of a forming in accordance with the invention is shown in FIG. 5A. It will be observed in this figure that the sides 45 of the blade are substantially in line with the radii of the roller 13 and the outer end of the compressing ridge 42 is rounded as shown at 42'.

The upper or make-up plate roller 14 carries on its surface a series of make-up plates 14' that are secured to the roller by means of screws 46. The make-up plates have a configuration substantially the same as that of the blades 15 but are somewhat larger in area. Make-up plates are used in order to permit the placement of shims beneath them so that the plates may be adjusted to provide a uniform spacing between the plate and the peripheral ridge of the cooperating blades 15 and thereby compensate for normal manufacturing tolerances in the fabrication of the parts.

With the make-up plates adjusted so that each plate 14' is uniformly spaced from its cooperating blade 15, the entire roller 14 can be shifted vertically to increase or decrease the gap between the rollers. For this purpose the bearing plates 39 and 39 supporting the roller 14 can be moved vertically by operation of a hand wheel 47 threadably engaging a screw 48 secured to a member 49 forming part of the bearing assembly 39. The threaded screw 43 extends through a bridging member 50 that is bolted to the upper end of the frame members 32 and 33 by a pair of bolts 51. By loosening screws 52 which hold the bearing assembly 39 to the frame 39, rotation of the hand wheel 47 will raise and lower the bearing assembly 39 and the roller 14. A similar hand wheel 47' is provided for raising and lowering the other end of the roller. The relative positions of the rollers 13 and 14 is determined by a shim or spacing block 52 that is disposed between the bearing assemblies 34 and 39. While these blocks are shown in one piece, they may include separate shims for the purpose of facilitating adjustment of the rollers. When the shim block 52 is adjusted to provide proper spacing the hand wheels 47 and 47 are loosened to permit the upper bearing assemblies 39 and 39' to move into their lowermost positions. Securing the assemblies in place is accomplished in the case of the bearing assembly by a pair of bolts 53 threaded in the bridging member 50 and bearing against blocks 54 carried by the bearing assembly 39. The bolts 53 are locked in place by lock nuts 55. The bearing member 39 supporting the other end of the roller 14 is similarly constructed and locked in the adjusted position. When the roller 14 is properly adjusted relative to the roller 13, the screws 52 are tightened to prevent lateral displacement of the assemblies 39 and 39'.

Power for driving the rollers 13 and 14 is applied to a shaft 56 which carries a roller 20 and a drive sprocket 57. The sprocket 57 drives a second sprocket 58 by means of a chain 59 with the sprocket 58 being carried by a shaft 60 journalled in the frame members 32 and 32'. The shaft 60 further carries a sprocket 61 that is coupled to the sprocket 37 on the roller 13 by means of a chain 62. The shaft 60 is also provided with a driven feed roller 12 engaging the underside of the stock 11. An upper drive roller 12 is an idler and is carried by a pair of links 63 pivoted at 64 and urged downwardly against the drive roller 12 by means of springs 65.

The drive roller 20 on the drive shaft 56 carries a fiat belt 19 and the inner end of the belt is supported by the roller 21 as previously described. Roller 21 is carried by a shaft 66 journalled to the frame members 33 and 33. The upper belt structure comprises belt 22, rollers 23 and 24 and is driven in synchronism with the belt 19 from the shaft 56 by suitable means not illustrated.

After the stock 11 has passed between the feed rollers 12 and 12 and the forming rollers 13 and 14, it then passes beneath the stripping plate 16 illustrated more clearly in FIG. 4. In this embodiment of the invention the stripper 5. plate 16 has a rounded trailing edge 17 and the plate is supported at its ends by attachment to the frame members 33 and 33'. It will be observed in FIG. 4 that the trailing edge 17 of the stripper plate slightly overlaps the leading edge of the belt 19 so that as the blanks 15 are stripped from the waste 11', they will be supported and guided between the belts 22 and 19. While the stripper plate has a curved forward edge 17 in this embodiment of the invention, it is apparent that its configuration may be modified when forming blanks having other configurations.

In order to maintain constant tension on the waste 11' to perform the stripping operation, the waste is brought upwardly at an angle to the stripper 16 and passes between a pair of feed rollers 67 and 68. These rollers are carried by an upwardly extending frame member 69 secured to the frame member 33. The lower roller 67 is journalled in an outwardly extending arm 70 and carries a drive sprocket 71. The roller is coupled to the sprocket 72 secured to the shaft 60 by a chain 73. The upper roller 68 is carried by an arm 74 pivoted at 75 to the frame 69 and urged downwardly against the driven roller 67 by a spring 75.

With the apparatus as described above, all of the driven elements are synchronized one with the others so that the speed of the operation can be changed readily without affecting the operation of the machine. In addition, once the rollers 13 and 14 are properly set for a given thickness of material, no further adjustments need be made, and since there is no metal-to-metal contact between the blades 15 and the make-up plates 14', little if any wear will be encountered. As a result the machine will operate for extended periods of time without readjustment of the apparatus. While actual severance of the stock is avoided in the forming operation, slight deflection of the stock upon emergence from between rollers 13 and 14 may break portions of the compressed parts, but in no instance does the blank become separated from the stock until after the stripping operation.

FIG. 6 shows an enlarged view of the stock 11 to illustrate the manner in which material is compressed to form the blanks. The portion of the stock 11 to the left of the depression 76 constitutes part of the blank 10, while the portion to the right constitutes part of the waste 11'. The depression 76 is generally of a V-shaped configuration and does not penetrate the stock but rather compresses the stock so that the innermost portion of the V-shaped depression 76 is brittle and will break readily when the material on each side thereof is deflected. This deflection in the operation of the apparatus is produced by the stripper plate 16 which maintains the blanks in a horizontal plane while the waste 11 is drawn upwardly at a sharp angle. After the blanks have been severed they are processed by suitable apparatus for producing cylindrical cups such as that shown in FIG. 7. It is to be understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the fabrication of cup blanks, but can be used for forming blanks for other purposes.

FIGS. 8 through 14 illustrate the process and apparatus for fabricating the forming blades 15. The first step in this process is to cast the blade 15 in the general shape required with an upwardly extending edge portion 42. The under side of the blade is then machined to provide a proper radius for securing it to the drum 13', as previously described. After forming the underside of the blade, the blade is then positioned on a drum or cylinder 80 rotatably supported on the horizontally movable bed of a milling machine or other suitable device. One end of the drum or cylinder 80 carries a spur gear 81 secured thereto. Above the spur gear and meshing therewith is a rack 82 slidably carried by a support 83 secured to and movable with the milling machine bed. The outer end of the rack 82 carries a pin 84 which rides in a groove 85 formed in a stationary cam member 86. The curve of the groove 85 is arranged to coordinate with the curvature of the plate 15 so that as the plate is transported by longitudinal movement of the drum 80, the rack 82 and spur gear 81 will automatically rotate the drum about its longitudinal axis. A rotary cutting tool 87 is carried by a driving head 88 and mills the far edge of the cutter blade 15, as shown in FIG. 8 to the proper curvature. To start this milling operation the drum 80 is moved to the right so that the cutter 87 is at the left hand edge of the cutter blade 15. This brings the rack 82 and pin 84 to the right hand edge of the groove 85, as shown in 'FIG. 9. The cutter 87 is then positioned relative to the edge to be cut so that proper depth of the cut will be obtained. The milling machine is then adjusted to move the cylindrical member 80 to the left and in so doing the cam groove 85 will cause the rack 82 to rotate the cylinder 80, producing relative arcuate motion between the cutter 87 and the cylinder 80 to mill the desired curvature on the blade 15. The position of the milling tool 87 relative to the outer edge of the blade 15 will be observed more clearly in FIG. 11.

The ends of the blade 15 are formed by utilizing conventional milling machine practice wherein gearing is used to rotate the drum 80 and at the same time transport it longitudinally. The inner edges of the blank forming ridges 42 of the blade 15 are machined in substantially the same manner except that the milling tool 87 is provided with a bevelled edge 89 to provide a tapered inner surface on the ridge 42. The milling process produces a keen edge 42' and this edge is then broken by the use of emery cloth or other similar material so that the forming ridge will actually terminate in a slightly rounded radius to avoid actual cutting of the stock.

While only one embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it is apparent that modifications, alterations and changes may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of continuously forming blanks from a strip of compressible sheet material comprising the steps of moving said sheet material in one path between a pair of cooperating material engaging rollers, compressing the material to form relatively narrow, highly compacted, brittle blank defining lines while moving between said rollers, preventing the sheet material from buckling and distorting while between said rollers, guiding said sheet material from said one path into another path at an angle to said one path to fracture said compressed material along the highly compacted brittle blank defining lines and. separate the blanks from the sheet material.

2. Apparatus for forming blanks from compressible sheet material comprising a pair of cooperating rollers, at least one curved blank forming die carried by one of said rollers and having a narrow rounded material compressing ridge for forming said blank, means rotatably supporting said rollers in spaced relationship with the ridge of said die being spaced from said other roller a distance less than the thickness of said material, means for rotating said rollers, means for feeding said material between said rollers to form successive blanks defined by a line of highly compacted brittle material, a stripper plate having one surface adjacent said material upon leaving said rollers, and means for guiding said material past the trailing edge of said stripper plate to break the compacted portions of material and separate the formed blanks from the material.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said one roller includes a plurality of blank forming dies spaced about the periphery thereof, and said other roller includes a make-ready plate for cooperation with each die to adjust the spacing between each die and the surface of its associated make-ready plate.

4. Apparatus for forming blanks from compressible sheet material such as paper and the like comprising a pair of cooperating rollers disposed one above the other,

at least one of said rollers carrying a plurality of spaced blank forming dies each of said dies having at least a peripheral ridge extending outwardly therefrom, said ridge being tapered to form a relatively narrow sharply rounded material compressing edge, a plurality of make-ready plates on the other of said rollers for cooperation with said dies, means for rotatably supporting said rollers in spaced relationship whereby said outwardly extending ridges will move in spaced relationship to said makeready plates a distance materially less than the thickness of the material to form narrow, highly compacted brittle lines, means for feeding said material between said rollers to form successive blanks by compressing the material between said ridges and the make-ready plates to form lines of a highly compacted brittle structure, a stripper plate having one surface adjacent said material upon leaving said rollers, and means for guiding said material past the trailing edge of said stripper plate and at an angle relative thereto to fracture said compacted portions of material and separate the formed blanks from the material.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said blank forming dies are carried by the lower of said rollers, the upper of said rollers includes a plurality of make-ready plates moveable in phase with said dies and wherein said stripper plate is disposed above said sheet material, said sheet material being moved past the stripper plate and said guiding means moving said material upwardly past the trailing edge of the stripper plate to separate the blanks from the material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,524,576 Rogers J an. 27, 1925 1,771,734 Penley July 29, 1930 2,066,372 Tomalis Jan. 5, 1937 2,144,980 Johanson Jan. 24, 1939 2,390,072 Beaton Dec. 4, 1945 2,397,168 Touceda Mar. 26, 1946 2,429,945 Rayburn Oct. 28, 1947 2,523,153 Shapiro Sept. 19, 1950 2,682,208 Monroe et al June 29, 1954 2,880,799 Whitman Apr. 7, 1959 

